Tallest Buildings In Philadelphia

29 of the 381 high-rises in Philadelphia stand taller than 400 feet, the tallest being the 975-foot-tall Comcast Center.

The skyline of Philadelphia

Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania State. The city went through a construction boom in the 1970's and 1980's that saw the rise of more than 20 high rise buildings. The city’s history of constructing tall buildings dates back to 1754 when a steeple was added to the Christ Church. In the 20th century, a gentleman’s agreement prevented building from rising above the tallest building, the Philadelphia City Hall which was 548 feet tall. The city has twice held the record for the tallest building in North America, first was the Christ Church and later the City Hall. In 1987, due to urbanization and the need for leasable space, the agreement was broken by the construction of the One Liberty Place. The Comcast Center is Philadelphia's tallest building and the 19th tallest in the US. In 2014, the construction of the Comcast Innovation and Technology Center began, it is expected to surpass the Comcast Center by 146 feet to be the tallest building in Philadelphia and 8th in the US.

Tallest Buildings In Philadelphia

1. Comcast Center

The Comcast Center is the tallest skyscraper in Philadelphia; it is ranked 19h in the US and 98th globally. Comcast Center was initially known as One Pennsylvania Plaza, it is owned by Liberty Property Trust and was designed by architect Robert A. M. Stern. It is 296.7ft tall, occupies an area of 1,400,000sq ft has 58 floors, and $540 million was in its construction. Construction of the building began on March 31, 2005, and was officially opened on June 6, 2018. It is used for commercial purposes only, housing commercial offices The Center is fitted with a winter garden containing the Comcast Experience, a 4 feet tall, 83.3 feet wide, 2,000 sq ft high-definition LED screen. The Comcast Experience is a popular tourist attraction.

2. One Liberty Place

One Liberty Place ranks second among the tallest buildings in Philadelphia. It is located on the corner of 17th Street and market streets. It contains 1.2 million square feet of floor space. The building is owned by Sunbelt Management Parkway Properties Inc., Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Falcone Group, and HEI Hospitality and has a height of 945ft. It was designed by Helmut Jahn who used the Chrysler Building in New York as a reference. The Building is square with recessed corners and a facade built using glass and aluminum. The building houses commercial offices, hotels, and retail stores. The construction of the building began on May 13, 1985, and ended in 1987.

3. Two Liberty Place

Two Liberty Place is the 3rd tallest building with a height of 847ft. It is owned by the owners of One Liberty Place and has a physical resemblance to One Liberty place. The building has 58 floors and contains 1.2 million square feet of space. The building was intended for the Cigna, which required more space than One Liberty could provide. The building is used for commercial, retail and residential purposes. Floors 40 to 57 are used as condominiums; floor 37 houses a Spa and Sauna. Its construction began on February 16, 1988, and ended in 1990.

4. BNY Mellon Center

The BNY Mellon Center is the fourth tallest building in Philadelphia and 161st globally. It has a height of 792ft and has 54 floors. Before 1999, the building was initially known as Mellon Bank Center. Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates designed the building and is owned by HRPT Properties Trust. The building has a shopping concourse beneath it which connects the building to a suburban station and a winter garden. The building houses the offices of Citizens Bank, The Boston Consulting Group. On the 52nd floor, it houses the Pyramid Club one of the city’s most famous clubs.

5. Three Logan Square

Three Logan Square ranks fifth among the tallest buildings in Philadelphia. It stands 739ftand has about 1.3 million square feet of space. The building was designed by Kling Lindquist Partnership and is owned by Brandywine Realty Trust. The top most floor is occupied by a banquet hall that is available for public rental. A landscaped Plaza open for public use was constructed next to the building to fulfill the city’s law that requires 1% of the cost of construction to be used for public art.